Metered Access

Crain's Detroit Business is a metered site. Print and digital subscribers have unlimited access to stories, but registered users are limited to eight stories every 30 days. After viewing three metered stories, you'll be asked to register or log in. After eight more stories in 30 days, you'll be asked to subscribe.

Median home sale prices in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties increased by 24.3 percent last month compared to May 2013, but sales fell by 8.9 percent in the same time period.

According to data from Farmington Hills-based Realcomp II Ltd., median sale prices increased from $111,000 to $138,000 in the four-county region.

Wayne County sale prices increased by 33.3 percent from $60,000 in May 2013 to $80,000 last month. In Oakland County, they increased by 17.3 percent from $165,000 to $193,600, and in Macomb County they increased from $105,000 to $123,000, or 17.1 percent. In Livingston County they increased from $181,450 to $197,950, or 9.1 percent, according to Realcomp.

“There is a lot to make up for because it was double-digit decreases for two or three years,” said Karen Kage, CEO of Realcomp. “Those numbers are coming back up to 2007 levels, which is pretty encouraging.”

Total sales in the four-county region fell from 5,072 in May 2013 to 4,623 last month, according to Realcomp.

The greatest decline was in Wayne County, which dropped 14.3 percent from 1,969 in May 2013 to 1,688 last month. In Macomb, sales fell by 12.4 percent from 1,115 in May 2013 to 977 last month. Sales fell by 2.5 percent in Oakland, from 1,732 to 1,689 last month.

Sales increased in Livingston County by 5.1 percent from 256 in May 2013 to 269 last month.

Last month also marked the first time in five years that on-market inventory increased year-over-year, according to Realcomp.

In the four-county region, the number of available homes increased from 15,134 in May 2013 to 15,202 last month, a 0.4 percent increase.

“Up is up,” Kage said. “We are encouraged. In order for the market to continue to be strong, we need more inventory coming in because the inventory is at an all-time low.”

May’s median sales price numbers are slightly better than those reported in April, when sales prices increased by 24.1 percent from $98,250 in April 2013 to $121,900 in April.